Wild Ecstasy by Cassie Edwards Page A

she might be with child. She also wore a lovely blue tunic beaded in a leaf-and-flower design, and knee-high moccasins.
    Mariah did not even feel threatened when she realized that the maiden’s one hand was on a sheathed knife at her waist, her other hand clutching a basket filled with what appeared to be an assortment of wild herbs, apparently picked from the forest bed. There was too much kindness in the gentle features of the maiden’s face for her to use the knife against Mariah—a person quite visibly without weapons.
    â€œI am nee-gee , a friend,” Mariah said softly, so glad that her father had taught her enough of the Chippewa language to get by.
    She then tried to reach the beautiful maiden in her own tongue, knowing that most Indians in this region knew the English language well enough, since they traded with the white people at Fort Snelling. “I am a friend in need of help. Can you offer me assistance? I no longer have a way to travel to Fort Snelling, my destination. My horse lost its footing and threw me, then was swept away in the swift current.”
    Still the maiden did not speak, seeming to be taking her time to come to a decision about Mariah, about whether she spoke the truth or lied.
    Then Mariah became wary herself. “Are you Chippewa or Sioux?” she asked, her voice revealing her wariness. She feared the Sioux. They had not made peace with the white people as readily as had the Chippewa.
    To Mariah’s relief, the maiden finally spoke.
    â€œNee-kah is Chippewa.” Her eyes roved over Mariah, then locked eyes with her. “Your name?”
    Mariah stiffened, afraid to reveal her name to Nee-kah, unsure of whether or not the news had spread of her father’s attack on Echohawk’s village, and her part in it.
    Nee-kah’s eyebrows lifted, finding it strange that this white lad who had been so talkative before now chose to be quiet.
    But she could not delay returning to her village any longer by playing word games with the lad. She had left only long enough to find the herbs necessary for Echohawk’s healing. He had become fevered and now awaited her return.
    Through the night she had become concerned about this temperature that had risen so quickly, seeming to rob him of his senses. She was frightened over this, for the white man’s attack had not only taken away most of his eyesight but also could perhaps eventually cost him his life.
    â€œ Mah-bee-szhon , come,” Nee-kah said. “White boy, you will go with me to my village. Chief Silver Wing will decide what then will become of you.”
    Mariah fell into step beside Nee-kah, through woods mixed with meadow, the pine forest crowding up to the shore of the land. She was relieved that the maiden had not demanded a name, yet feared being taken to a powerful Chippewa chief, especially since she had been part of a Chippewa massacre only yesterday.
    And she did not know if she should correct Nee-kah’s mistaking her for a boy and tell her that she was a young woman, like herself.
    She quickly decided that revealing too many truths at this time could be dangerous.
    Especially claiming the name “Temple” in these parts now could possibly be her death decree.
    She set her jaw angrily when she thought of her father. He had not taken into consideration the outcome of his decision to slay many Chippewa yesterday, when there were other villages of Chippewa in the area who could avenge their fallen comrades!
    Her father had not considered the danger in which he had placed his daughter, which proved to her that his caring for her came second to his lusty need of vengeance against a Chippewa that had rendered him a half-cripple all of those years ago.
    Dizzy from hunger and the trauma of the fall, and fearing the outcome of her appearance in the Chippewa village, Mariah stumbled and fell.
    Nee-kah stopped quickly and set her basket on the ground. She knelt down beside Mariah. “